Breastfeeding At Home

February 25, 2016

Since Hava was born, our home has been filled with love.

It’s also been filled with people!

My family lives nearby, so they were major parts of our transition from the hospital to our home. My mom was the keeper of all things baby while we moved (just six days before Hava came!) and she was a champion in keeping everything organized and together and sorted.

Marisa’s mom came from halfway across the country to stay with us for several weeks, and the rest of her family joined for a week-long stay recently.

We’ve divided everyone into three main groups, when it comes to breastfeeding:

Group 1 – RUN! These are the people that when they come over, breastfeeding is not done, or is done behind closed doors. On another floor of the house. For the most part, these are the strangers and service providers.

Group 2 – COVER! This group may be potentially grossed out, but they get to spend a healthy amount of time with the entire family while they are here. Marisa is comfortable feeding Hava while these people are at our house, but she may quietly excuse herself to another room nearby. She will almost always put a loose cover, like a receiving blanket, over her shoulder to conceal her breast and the baby’s head.

Group 3 – PARTY TIME! Members of this group better get used to seeing nipple. There are no boundaries for breastfeeding when these people (mostly family) are in the house. It’s fair game for breastfeeding to happen at the dinner table, while watching a movie, while on the phone, you name it.

While we’ve had fun with these groupings, it’s a really serious subject for parents to get on the same page about.Us dads are often the first and last line of defense in keeping mom and baby comfortable, especially when company is joining the festivities.

Talking to your partner about the expected visitors that day, or even that week, can help you make sure she’s as comfortable as possible in her own home. Breastfeeding, especially in the first weeks, can be awkward and a tired mom, recovering from 6-10 pounds of happiness coming out of her loins, needs help in sorting out who’s coming to visit… and when.

If you have stairs in the house, new moms can only go up and down them a few times each day. So scheduling visitors in a way that limits her stair climbing is tremendous. She’ll appreciate that you’re thinking of her recovery in addition to the baby